Prathamesh Karatkar's blog
Benefits of Using dotenv Files for Configurations and Collaboration

Benefits of Using dotenv Files for Configurations and Collaboration

Prathamesh Karatkar's photo
Prathamesh Karatkar
·

2 min read

Table of contents

.env file:

It helps keep sensitive information, like database credentials, out of your source code and allows for easier collaboration management in your project.

config file:

Using a config.js file to manage environment variables loaded from a .env file provides a structured and organized way to handle configuration in your Node.js applications.

  • Separation of Concerns

  • Centralized Configuration

  • Ease of Use

  • Consistency

  • Compatibility

1.Installation:

Make sure you have the dotenv package installed

pnpm install dotenv

2.Create a .env File:

Add your environment-specific variable to a .env file in your project's root directory:

DB_URL = "127.0.0.1"
DB_PORT = "27017"
S3_BUCKET = "YOURLINK"

3.Usage in Node.js: config.js:

import "dotenv/config";

const {
    DB_URL = "mongodb://localhost",
    DB_PORT = 27017,
    S3_BUCKET } = process.env    // object destructuring

/*
    export const dbURL = DB_URL ? `${DB_URL}: ${DB_PORT}`
    :"mongodb://localhost:27017";
 */

export const dbURL = `${DB_URL}:${DB_PORT}`;

export const S3bucket = S3_BUCKET;

4.Explanation:

  • We import dotenv and call dotenv.config() to load the variable from the .env file into process.env.

  • This code uses object destructuring to extract the DB_URL, DB_PORT, and S3_BUCKET environment variables from process.env.

  • If DB_URL or DB_PORT is not present in the environment variables, default values of "mongodb://localhost" and 27017 are used, respectively.

  • The dbURL variable is constructed by combining DB_URL and DB_PORT with a colon (:) separator.

  • The S3bucket variable simply exports the value of S3_BUCKET.

5.Usage in Your Application:

You can now import the config object and use it in your application:

import {dbURL}  from "./config.js";

console.log("DBURL:", dbURL)

This code snippet imports the dbURL variable from config.js, which likely contains logic to construct a database URL using environment variables. It then logs this dbURL value to the console, showing the configured database URL. This approach keeps sensitive information separate from the main codebase, simplifying configuration management.

Conclusion:

Using ES6 syntax can make your code more concise and easier and easier to read, especially when working with modules and exports.

backendNode.jsDevelopersoftware development